Lyndon Johnson

Former Miss America Bess Myerson has died, aged 90. The beauty queen passed away on 14 December (14) at her California home after a long battle with dementia.
Born in the Bronx, Myerson made history in 1945, when she became the first Miss New York to win the title of Miss America. She was also the first Jewish winner of the national competition - and remains the only Jewish contestant to claim victory in the pageant's history.
She later moved into politics, advising U.S. presidents Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter on topics including crime and violence and mental health issues, and worked for New York City as the commissioner of cultural affairs for late Mayor Ed Koch, who she frequently accompanied to political events and functions.

Punk icon Iggy Pop gave up his dreams of becoming a politician in his native Detroit, Michigan following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The Lust For Life hitmaker admits he grew up wanting to make a difference in America but the aftermath of the Kennedy killing in 1963 made him realise he just wasn't the right guy for the job.
In a new interview with BBC news show Newsnight, which aired on Thursday (09Oct14), the rocker explained, "I did want to be a politician until JFK got shot... Not because he was shot, but because... suddenly you had (Richard) Nixon, (Vice President) Hubert Humphrey, LBJ (Lyndon Johnson - Kennedy's successor)...
"A kid can look at these people and think, 'These people are not well!'."

WENN/Adriana M. Barraza
If you never got to New York City to see Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston as President Lyndon B. Johnson, HBO is on your side. HBO Films recently acquired the rights to the Tony Award-winning play All The Way, with playwrite Robert Schenkkan signing on to adapt his script.
According to Variety the play follows Johnson's "tumultuous first year in office," beginning with his entry into the presidency (after the JFK assassination), and of course dealing with his efforts during the Vietnam War and the historic Civil Rights Act.
For his performance, Cranston took home the Tony Award for Best Actor earlier this year. We can all expect powerful good things when the movie comes to HBO.
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Godzilla star Bryan Cranston is set take his portrayal of U.S. leader Lyndon B. Johnson from the stage to the screen after signing on to reprise his role as the president in Steven Spielberg's TV adaptation of All The Way. The Breaking Bad star won a Tony Award for his Broadway debut and now bosses at U.S. cable network HBO have acquired rights to the play adaptation, which Spielberg is executive producing.
Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Schenkkan will pen the screenplay.
All the Way chronicles LBJ's first year in office after taking the oath following President Kennedy's assassination.

Bryan Cranston's hit Broadway show All The Way has broken New York theatre records by becoming the first play to gross over $1.4 million (£875,000) in a week. Just two weeks after the play and Cranston picked up Tony Awards, theatre fans flocked to see the Breaking Bad star as former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson.
The play by Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Schenkkan shattered the record for eight performances during a single week.
All The Way has become one of this season's biggest Broadway hits, and went into profit last month (May14).
The play closes on Sunday (29Jun14) after 131 performances.

Paramount via Everett Collection
Actor Dylan Baker has been tapped to play former U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation director J. Edgar Hoover in the Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic Selma.
The Spider-Man 2 star will portray the government official who famously wiretapped the civil rights leader's office in a failed bid to prove he was a part of the Communist party, according to Deadline.com.
Baker will join a cast that includes David Oyelowo as King, Cuba Gooding, Jr. as American civil rights lawyer Fred Gray, British actor Tom Wilkinson as former U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson and Tim Roth, who will portray controversial U.S. governor George Wallace.
Oprah Winfrey, who will play civil rights protester Annie Lee Cooper in the film, and Brad Pitt are among the producers of the project.

Actor Bryan Cranston has confirmed reports he will star in a TV movie based on his award-winning Broadway play All The Way. Last week (15Jun14), reports suggesting Lincoln director Steven Spielberg was keen to turn the play about former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson into a mini-series surfaced, but the Breaking Bad star reveals the project will actually be a TV movie.
He tells Vulture.com, "They want to see and honour the story, and so if it needs to be maybe four hours then it might be a two-hour and two-hour kind of thing."
All the Way playwright Robert Schenkkan is currently penning the script for the TV movie.
Cranston picked up a Best Actor Tony Award for his portrayal of Johnson earlier this month (Jun14).

TV titan Oprah Winfrey has joined the cast of her Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic Selma. Winfrey is producing the film alongside Brad Pitt and now she is set to portray civil rights protester Annie Lee Cooper, an elderly woman who tried to register to vote and was denied by a sheriff.
The movie will reunite the 60 year old with her Lee Daniels' The Butler co-star David Oyelowo, who will play King, while Cuba Gooding, Jr. will star as American civil rights lawyer Fred Gray, British actor Tom Wilkinson has signed on to play former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, and Tim Roth will portray controversial U.S. governor George Wallace.

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg is reportedly developing a miniseries based on Bryan Cranston's award-winning Broadway play All The Way. The Lincoln director is preparing to buy the rights to the stage show and wants the Breaking Bad star to reprise his role as former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson in the series, which will focus on the first year of Johnson's administration, according to Deadline.com.
The news emerges a day after Cranston won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play on Sunday (08Jun14) for his portrayal of the late politician.
The stage show also took home the Best Play accolade at the New York prizegiving.

Broadway star Audra Mcdonald made history at the Tony Awards on Sunday night (08Jun14) when she became the most decorated actress on the New York stage. McDonald picked up her sixth Tony for portraying jazz and blues legend Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, putting her ahead of five-time winners Angela Lansbury and the late Julie Harris for the most competitive wins by a Broadway star.
The Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play win also gave McDonald the first Tony Awards grand slam - she has previously won gold as a best featured actress in a play (A Raisin in the Sun and Master Class), a best lead actress in a musical (The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess) and a best featured actress in a musical (Ragtime and Carousel).
Meanwhile, Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston was at the beginning of his Tonys journey - he scored Sunday night's Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his New York stage debut as President Lyndon B. Johnson in All The Way, which also picked up the Best Play Tony.
Former Tonys host Neil Patrick Harris was also a first-time winner - he walked away with the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role as a gender-bending rocker in Hedwig & the Angry Inch.
Accepting his award, the gay star paid tribute to his partner David Burtka, stating, "I love you so much and I am so happy that we got to do this. Thank you for your sacrifices," and his kids Harper and Gideon, adding, "I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to spend as much time with you as I wish I could... I promise that as soon as this is done I'll be able to read books to you and put you to sleep."
The award marked a very special date in his family's history - Harris' parents were celebrating their wedding anniversary.
The actor's Broadway hit was the night's big winner, picking up a total of four awards. Hedwig also claimed the Best Revival of a Musical, Best Lighting and Lena Hall was honoured with the prize for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical.
A Raisin in the Sun and A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder were triple winners.
A Raisin in the Sun claimed Best Revival of a Play, while Brit Sofie Okonedo and Kenny Leon claimed Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play and Best Direction titles, respectively, and Gentleman's Guide landed awards for Best Musical, Best Costume Design and Best Direction of a Musical (Darko Tresnjak).
The full list of 2014 Tony Awards winners is:
Best Play
All the Way
Best Musical
A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Best Revival of a Play
A Raisin in the Sun
Best Revival of a Musical
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Best Book of a Musical
A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder - Robert L. Freedman
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
The Bridges of Madison County- Music & Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Bryan Cranston, All The Way
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Neil Patrick Harris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Jessie Mueller, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Mark Rylance (Twelfth Night)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Sophie Okonedo, A Raisin in the Sun
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
James Monroe Iglehart, Aladdin
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Lena Hall, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Beowulf Boritt, Act One
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Christopher Barreca, Rocky
Best Costume Design of a Play
Jenny Tiramani, Twelfth Night
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Linda Cho, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Natasha Katz, The Glass Menagerie
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Best Sound Design of a Play
Steve Canyon Kennedy, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Brian Ronan, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
Best Direction of a Play
Kenny Leon, A Raisin in the Sun
Best Direction of a Musical
Darko Tresnjak, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Best Choreography
Warren Carlyle, After Midnight
Best Orchestrations
Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre - Jane Greenwood (casting designer)
Isabelle Stevenson Award for Humanitarian Efforts - Rosie O'Donnell
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre - Joseph P. Benincasa, Joan Marcus & Charlotte Wilcox